TNG:The Charlotte Files- Seeing The Bridge
by CharlieGreene
Summary: Charlotte Hope enlists her friend Wesley to help her in an effort to get a glimpse of the Bridge. But she gets more than she ever thought she would when her plan is discovered... (One-shot)


**A/N- Hi guys, this is my first post to this site! Do i need a disclaimer? I'll put one in just in case :)**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Star Trek or any of it's characters, unfortunately for me. **

**Please enjoy my first story!**

* * *

In the future, somewhere in space, two teenagers were talking.

"Oh, come on, Wes! You know how badly I want to see it. So help me!" Charlotte Hope pleaded, dark eyes looking sorrowful.

Wesley Crusher sighed. "All right! But I don't see what you need me for."

"Just in case I chicken out." Charlotte grinned.

Wes shook his head and peered around the corner. The corridor was empty, and he was getting bored. "They're probably all up there 's no point to this!"

"I'm sure someone will be up to the Bridge soon," Charlotte argued, looking too.

A yellow uniform appeared at the end of the corridor. Charlotte held the tiny device loosely in her hand and got ready to step out, but then she froze.

"Wes, I can't do it! Here, take it, you do it," she begged, closing his hand around the device. Wesley rolled his eyes and looked out.

"I don't know what you're so afraid of. It's only Data."

She hushed him and he stepped out, neatly colliding with the android as he went past. "Oh, I'm so sorry, sir! I didn't see you coming!"

"It is quite all right, Mr Crusher. But you might want to look where you are going next time,"

"Yes, sir."

Data went on his way, and Wes re-joined Charlotte at the wall. "See, it wasn't that hard!"

"Oh, I know very well that you weren't feeling so calm about crashing into a senior officer!" Charlotte retorted, flipping her white hair out of her eyes. Then she smiled. "But thank you, Wes, for doing that for me."

Wesley nodded. "Well, I know my account isn't enough for you. I hope you're happy now."

Charlotte pushed herself off the wall she was leaning on and started down the corridor. "Well, I'm going to my quarters to monitor it. See you later!"

* * *

Charlotte Hope was a 16 year old human, one of Wesley's best friends. She was not an officer, but she was accompanying her grandfather on the ship much like Wesley was with his mother, Dr Beverly Crusher. She had an unusual appearance- dark grey eyes, lightly-tanned skin, and a shock of long, thick, pure _white_ hair. She was very proud of her hair.

She liked to experiment with technology, and often enlisted Wesley to help her build devices like the one that had just been planted- a miniature camera. She had made that one herself.

She also read up as much as she could on how to manage a ship, for she hoped to enter Starfleet soon. Wesley was doing the same, but he was progressing much faster than she was. Not that she was jealous…

She finally reached the doors to her quarters and breezed in, making for the computer. A few taps and she was in, the screen showing what she presumed to be a part of the Bridge. She smiled.

* * *

All was quiet on the Bridge. The Enterprise was flying harmlessly through space, when suddenly…

"Captain, reading some kind of energy signature."

"Where?"

"Right here on the Bridge. In fact, it seems to be coming from Lieutenant-Commander Data."

Commander Riker stood up, frowning. He took a tricorder and started to scan the puzzled android.

The tricorder beeped, and Riker looked closely at the front of Data's uniform. Reaching over, he plucked a tiny metal device from the material and studied it. "It looks like…a camera or a recording device. What was it doing on your uniform?"

Data frowned. "I do not know, sir."

Captain Picard got up and joined Riker, staring at the device. "Why would someone plant a device on you? What could they want?"

"If it's a camera, they probably just want to see where you go."

"The Bridge." Picard nodded. "Curious children. It's harmless, Number One. And it's better than having the children up here themselves. Let them look."

Riker nodded and slowly waved the device around the room. "Now what do I do with it?"

Picard called over a passing Ensign. "Take this device to the observation lounge. We'll look at it later."

The Ensign nodded and left.

* * *

Charlotte sighed in frustration. As soon as the Commander had removed the camera, the signal died. Well, she wasn't going to make another one. She would simply retrieve it and try to fix it.

But where was it? She doubted they would keep it on the Bridge. Jumping up, she rummaged around in her draws for her tracker. Wesley had made it for her when she complained about always losing things, and it had always come in handy.

Now, she turned it on and tapped it a few times. It looked just like an ordinary PADD, but it was greatly modified. She stared at the screen. There was a collection of brightly coloured dots in the area she was standing in- they would be her things. She widened the search and found one single dot some distance from her quarters. It looked like the Observation Lounge.

"Well, at least it's not the Bridge," she said aloud. She put the tracker back in the draw before opening the doors and hurrying down the corridor.

It wasn't long before she reached the Lounge. Aware that she was probably not allowed in the area, she made sure no-one saw her as she slipped through the doors.

She stopped for a moment to look around the room, and studied the replicas of ships lining one wall. Impressive. She turned her mind back to the mission at hand and ran her eyes over the long table. There it was. She picked it up carefully and headed back to the door, but froze when she heard voices outside.

The doors slid open, and Commander Riker and Captain Picard walked in.

"What are you doing in here?" asked a surprised Captain Picard, with a note of irritation in his voice. Charlotte saw right away that he didn't like kids.

"I…I just came to…um… get this…" she stammered, and held up the camera.

"What did you make it for?" asked Riker in a slightly gentler tone.

"I just wanted to see the Bridge."

"So you thought you'd attach it to a senior officer who was sure to go up there?"

"Yes."

Riker looked at Picard. "Well, that seems like a good way to do it. But I have a better way. Captain?"

Picard sighed. "All right. Bring her up."

"Wait… what?" Charlotte looked at both of them, confused.

Riker smiled and offered his arm to her. "May I have the honour of escorting you to the Bridge, Miss…?"

"Hope." Charlotte took his arm, feeling a little light-headed. "Charlotte Hope."

They walked out of the Lounge and up the corridor to the turbo lift. Charlotte hardly noticed the journey; she was so amazed at the turn of things. In no time, the lift door opened, and they walked onto the Bridge.

Everyone looked up when they entered, and Charlotte looked around shyly. She could identify most of the senior crew- There was the scary-looking Klingon, Worf, and Tasha Yar, and Deanna Troi sat there, and a dark man sat out in front, what was his name? Something LaForge? And sitting at the other console next to him was Data. Charlotte gulped and looked away.

"Everyone, this is Charlotte Hope. She made that little camera so that she could see the Bridge. An ingenious idea." He turned to her. "How about a grand tour?"

She let herself be led from console to console, screen to screen. Security, Tactical, Science station, Environmental Control, Engineering… Ops and Conn at the front… Command chairs… View Screen… At every station, at the person at the console gave her a smile and a nod. Except for Worf; he just watched her, but she expected that. And Data just looked curious, but Charlotte tried to avoid looking at him. This puzzled Riker for a moment, but he let it pass.

"You're excited," Deanna said with a smile.

"Well, I've never seen a ship's Bridge before. This is such a privilege!" She turned to Picard. "Thank you, Captain. I wasn't expecting this."

"Yes, well," he said gruffly, "I suppose you've seen all you wanted to see?"

"Oh, yes Captain, I'll get out of your way now." She grinned and headed for the Turbo Lift.

"Oh, Miss Hope?"

"Yes?"

"It would be best if you held off from bragging to the other children about this. You're the second child who I've allowed up here, and quite frankly I don't want any more running about."  
"I understand, Captain." The doors closed, and the Bridge was gone. Charlotte couldn't wait to tell Wesley about what had happened!


End file.
